Bonne Année Et Bonne Santé
by Marta TP
Summary: Delphine is dragged to a New Year's Eve party and when she last expects she meets someone who just might change the way she sees the world around her. (Freaking summaries) One-shot to end the holiday's season. (Final Version)


**A/N: another holiday's special, before I return to my stories. **

**Here... Have some fluff... **

Delphine has no idea what she was thinking when she agreed to come with her co-workers to this party. She is not the type of person who liked to be hours on end stuck in a place with loud "music". The club's so crowded that it is impossible to give a few steps without feeling the need to say sorry to someone she accidentally stepped on. Getting to the counter to order a drink it's an adventure on itself and she knows she has to wait at least ten minutes to get what she wants. Of course that returning to her group of so-called friends it's a peril deed and once she finally gets to them half the content of her plastic cup is gone, spilled on the floor or over someone who bumped into her. It is a miracle that, so far, she was able to keep her clothes safe from the stench of alcohol.

And there is that smell. Despite the no smoking sign at the entrance, no one seems to be too shy to light up, either a cigarette or something else. Even as a smoker, it is hard for Delphine get near some areas without her some tears blurring her vision due to the thickness of the stale smoke. But nowhere it's as hard as when she passes a particular area of the club, a corner where the flashing lights seem to miss. The only reason she walks next to it's because is the fastest way to get to the bar, since the cluster of bodies isn't so dense there. Why that happened is due to, most likely, the obvious scent of weed burning.

Growing up, Delphine was very bad at being a child, constantly looking for the company of adults, even when her parents encouraged her to be with other kids and play with them. For some reason, unknown to her, Delphine sucked at being a kid and it was not for the lack of trying. She did want to play with boys and girls her own age, but she easily got bored and the other kids noticed. Eventually, they stopped asking her to join them and, truth be told, Delphine was more than happy to be on her own, reading a book or listening to music (real music, not the constant mix of beats and synthetic sounds, like now).

So it was no surprise, at least to the blonde, when she grew up to be a terrible teenager. Not that she was a rebel and continuously getting into trouble, no - she was actually very calm, never really got herself in any kind of situation she would be ashamed of in the future. When Delphine says (and she does very often) that she was not a good teenager it's because she never craved parties, never, not even in fantasies, had she thought about sneaking out in the middle of the night, never had she got drunk (and still avoids it at all costs). To sum it up: She was what teens call a bore... And still is.

Whatever, she can live with that. For Delphine the definition of a night well spent consists in a glass of red wine in one hand and a good book in the other. Perhaps a movie and some popcorn.

That being said, it's completely understandable that Delphine is feeling like a fish out of the water in one of the biggest night clubs in Paris to spent New Year's Eve.

"I hope you aren't planing on drinking sparkling water for the rest of the night, Del." Joan, one of Delphine's friend says, while returning from the dance floor.

"I won't! I'll probably change to regular water next." She answers, almost screaming to be heard over the high beat of the music.

"Ugh! God!" Her friend makes a disgusted face. "C'mon girl, you need to chill. You know, New Year is the one night you can do whatever you like and don't regret it at least until next year."

"To me it sounds like a lame excuse to get drunk!"

"Stop being so stiff and dance!" Joan places her hands on the blonde's hips and forces her to sway them a little at the rhythm of the music.

Delphine laughs, but wiggles out of her grip. "Okay, okay... Let me just go to the bathroom and I promise to dance when I return."

"Yeah... Good luck with that!"

Delphine never grasped what her friend meant to say until she gets close to where the bathroom is, not until she sees the long line for it. Some girls are better at hiding their "natural needs" than others, dancing from one foot to the other, some even have a truly agonizing expression.

"Oh my god! I don't want to spend countdown peeing!" A woman behind her says in English with a obvious American accent.

Delphine looks over her shoulder and down, becoming face to face with a wide open smile and a tongue peeking between teeth, deep brown eyes behind big spectacles. The small girl is in a short bright blue dress, her dreadlocked hair tight up in a intersected knot, the simple necklace contrasting with the several rings around her fingers. She is obviously dressed for the occasion, unlike Delphine, in tight jeans and a simple gray top.

"I don't think that will hapen. There's still..." The blonde glances at her small watch, "forty five minutes left." She concludes, having the weird feeling she has seen the American girl somewhere, but unable to pin point exactly where.

"I don't think I'm willing to risk it!" The smaller woman answers and quickly gets a hold of the French's hand. "C'mon, I need a chaperone."

"What... Wait! What are you doing?" Delphine's eyes opening wide as she's dragged out of the line, the girls behind them fast taking advantage of the opening. "Now we need to go to the back of the line."

"No, we won't!" The brunette says, continuing to pull at her hand, maneuvering around the bodies.

"Stop!" Delphine shouts and gets her hand free with a rough tug. "What are you doing?"

The other girl looks back as soon as she notices she's leaving Delphine behind. "Men's room!" She explains with a shrug.

"What!? I'm not going there."

"It's faster, but I need someone to guard the door for me." The American says, like it's the most natural thing in the world. Then she opens a smile. "I'll do the same for you, we'll be in and out in five..."

Delphine takes some time to think about it. It is a stupid idea, she could very well wait her turn, she contemplates looking back and seeing the line growing with every passing second. Then again, she really has to go.

Staring back down to the girl with a wide smile, but expecting eyes. "Okay!" She agrees. "But only if there's no one there."

The petit girl shrugs again and reaches for her hand. They don't exchange any more words until they reach the door of the men's bathroom. The stranger peeks inside and returns her attention back to the blonde.

"It's free!" She says with a smirk and pulls the scared woman inside.

"Are you sure this is okay?"

"Nop!" The brunette moves inside one of the stalls. "Keep an eye on the door!"

"I can't keep them from coming in." Delphine says flatly. "Oh, God... What's that smell?" She asked disgusted.

"Pee, frenchie, that smell is pee!" The girl answers from inside, followed by a deep chuckle. "You don't get out much, do you?"

"To men's bathrooms? No, I can't say that I do." She says as the flush's pushed.

The lock to the stall clicks open and the other woman gets out, still fixing her tight skirt. "Alright! Your turn!" But Delphine hesitates. "Go on! I'll guard your purity with my life."

Even if Delphine has no idea if she can trust the woman she goes in, wanting to take care of the issue as soon as possible so she could get out. It's not until she's squatting over the toilet that she realizes why the American looks familiar, she was one of the people who were at the "smoke corner". _Brilliant Delphine! Really nice! _She moves fast to get done, but stops when she hears the door open.

"Quesque tu fais ici?" A male voice asks.

"Sorry dude, can't understand a freaking word." She hears her companion's voice say.

The guy laughs. "I asked what are you doing here?"

"Same thing as you... I hope."

"You're a funny one, aren't you?"

"So my friends keep saying, but I don't know..." The brunette answers.

Delphine takes her time, hoping the guy goes away at the sight of a female in the bathroom, but she's not that lucky.

"You're American, oui?" He's trying to strike a conversation with the girl.

"That obvious?" The small girl's voice it's getting further from the door of the stall where Delphine is.

"Do you want to know about my new year's resolution?" The male voice asks, getting a little lower, his accent thickening. "I decided that I have to try new things."

"That's great, dude." The american's voice wavers a little. "Let me know how that turns out."

"Oh, you will know, alright."

"Hey! Let go!" The girl says louder.

_That's it! _Delphine slams the door open. "You heard her!" She says as she's faced with the little brunette stuck between the wall and the man's body, which seems enormous when compared to the small stature of the other woman.

"And why would I do that?" He asks with a smug expression.

"You think I'm gonna let you get that... comfortable with my girlfriend?" Delphine's not sure which of the two is more shocked, while she tries to keep her cool exterior and moves to wash her hands.

However, the girl is fast getting away from the guy and next to Delphine. "You heard her!" She takes the blonde's hand. "I'm her girl, so move over."

"If that's true then kiss!" He demands.

"Yew... Dude, don't be _that_ creep." The American says and starts to pull Delphine by the hand. "C'mon, babe." When they cross the door the smaller woman looks up, into Delphine's eyes. "Thanks! That was really great."

"Of course." Delphine answers, not able to hold the stare and looks down at the hand still covered by the other woman's. Realizing this she tries to pull away.

"I think we should stick together in case that creep tries it again." The American keeps their hands locked.

"I think you can take care of that by yourself if it happens." Delphine looks at the corner where she knows the girl's friends are. "And your real friends will be there to save you."

"I'd rather be saved by you." The girl pushes herself up so she can get to the taller woman's ear. "I'm your girl, remember." But then she releases Delphine's hand and starts to walk back to the area of the club where most people are.

"I don't think we're gonna work out."

"Are you breaking up with me?" She asks with an amused expression.

"I guess I am." Delphine nods.

She half smiles and extends her hand. "I'm Cosima. You should know my name before breaking my heart."

"Delphine." She takes the hand. "And I'm sorry about your heart, but I'm sure you'll pull through."

"Humm... I don't know. You're the hottest girlfriend I've ever had." Cosima flashes the most adorable smile. "Perhaps if you give me one last dance it will make it more bearable."

Delphine is about to agree when a girl approaches the American from behind. "Hey Cos, we're about to light up. Last high of the year! You coming?"

"Can't! I'm in the middle of a break up." Cosima answers, earning a confused look from her friend. "Yeah... You know me, it only took a trip to the bathroom to get a girlfriend and have her breaking up with me."

"So you're not coming?"

"Nop!" Cosima pops her response.

"Cosima you should go with your friend!" Delphine says fast, not wanting the other girl to change her plans for her.

But it's as if she hasn't heard, Cosima just stares as her friend, understanding that she won't get the brunette any time soon, leaves the two women to _solve their problems. _"So... Dance?" The American asks, her attention returning to the European, who's looking at her with a ghost of a smile on her lips.

Delphine's not sure why, but she finds herself unable to refuse Cosima's request. One last look at her friends' direction, before deciding that, weirdly, she would rather spend the remnants of the year with this strange, foreign girl than with her friends. "I don't really do the whole dancing thing..." She teases, smirking.

"Aww... C'mon, that's not the deal." Cosima puts a thoughtful expression.

"Let's go!" It's the only thing Delphine says, before she grabs the smaller woman's hand and pushes her, literally yanking her through the crowd of dancing bodies. Cosima laughs slightly at the sudden change of pace.

Delphine doesn't know from her she gets the courage for such a bold move, perhaps Cosima's pile of energy propels the blonde forward, like she's been contaminated by her exuberance. Then the Frenchwoman realizes it really doesn't matter, she couldn't care less about the reason why she's acting this way. All she really cares for is the smiling woman, starting to dance with playful movements in front of her, synchronized with the music's up beat tempo, her hands in the air, flying erratically, yet surprisingly precise with each beat of the bass. Delphine's laughs grow when Cosima takes her hands and encourages the blonde to follow her moves, pulling them above her head, only the ends of both women fingers remain in contact, as she spins and twirls around the tall blonde, but the fingertips always touching.

As midnight approaches the dance floor starts to get more and more crowded, with people trying to dance away the last minutes of the year. Delphine and Cosima are dancing much closer than when they started, as the room around them keeps shortening. Their hands still joined only by the fingertips, along the length of their bodies, which end up pressed together, the brunette's back currently against the blonde's front, their hips swaying as if they are glued. After a while Delphine realizes they're no longer keeping with the fast rhythm of the music, the two women found a beat of their own, much slower. A tune no one else in the club seems to be listen to but them.

Cosima guides their hands to wrap over her stomach and turns to face the blonde, who keeps her hands at the smaller woman's waist, the idea of parting contact suddenly devastating. Delphine shivers lightly when she feels Cosima's warm breathing against the base of her neck, as the American hides her face there, her hands traveling up the Frenchwoman's back to pull her by the neck.

"This is the best break up in the history of break ups." Cosima says against the shell of the blonde's ear, just loud enough to be heard.

It takes a few seconds for Delphine to register the meaning of Cosima's words, when she does, she nods her agreement, a wide smile as she looks down at the chocolate brown eyes. Just then, the energy between them changes, all the playfulness of the situation is pushed aside and something else takes its place, something that makes Delphine's heart jump, startled, by a realization she doesn't want to address.

"Cinq minutes!" They hear from the speakers, so that everyone in the club can get ready to the transition of yet another year.

The smile disappears from Delphine's lips and she starts to nibble her lower lip. "I... I should get back to my friends." She says, softly placing her hand on Cosima's shoulder to put some distance between them. "You probably want to get back to yours as well."

Cosima allows their bodies to separate, but holds Delphine's hand. "No, not really." She states, her voice's too low, but the blonde can read her answer in her lips.

Delphine considers for a moment what to do next, changing the position of their laced hands, so she's the one holding Cosima's, her thumb absently rubbing the knuckles and her teeth sinking deeper in the soft flesh of her bottom lip. "I have an idea." She finally says. "Go get your coat."

"Why?" Some sort of childish curiosity spreads across Cosima's face.

"Because is freaking cold outside." Delphine answers. "I'll meet you by the door."

And she moves fast, dodging as best as she can the bodies between her and where her friends are. Awkwardly, they don't notice her sneaking close to them to get her own coat, the group is too worried arguing which of their watches is the most accurate, so nothing goes wrong with the countdown. The blonde rolls her eyes, they're just too drunk.

She walks to the front door, not wanting to analyze further why her heart seems to pick up when she sees the small frame looking around and smile widely once their eyes meet.

"So we're going out?" Cosima asks as soon as Delphine gets close to her. The blonde nods and the brunette's smile gets even bigger, only to be fast replaced by a worried expression. "Oh, shit! Wait here!" And before Delphine can say anything, she's off.

"Deux minutes!" The announcer says and the music dies down.

The Frenchwoman has lost track of Cosima's small frame among other people, getting startled when a warm hand makes contact with her lower back. She looks back and sees Cosima moving the red coat, still on her arm, to discover a bottle of champagne hidden underneath.

"How did you..." Delphine starts, but Cosima giggles and pushes her through the door.

"Okay... Where to?" The American asks, putting her coat, changing the bottle from hand to hand in the process.

"This way!" The taller woman says, dressing her own coat, to fool the night's cold air, and moves to the back of the bar, reaching some sort of balcony. "You're gonna love this."

"What?"

The excitement in the other woman's voice is enough for Delphine to be sure she made the right choice. There are some people in the back, but either most don't know about it or are just too drunk to care. "Here!" She pulls Cosima closer to the rail. "You'll see!" And she takes the champagne from the smaller woman's hand, starting to work to get it opened.

"I don't see anything, Delphine. It's pitch black!" Cosima whines. "Why did you lure me here?"

"Just wait!" Delphine has the bottle ready to pop open, just a little pressure of her thumb on the cork will get the job done.

They can hear the countdown from inside the bar.

_Five... _

_Four... _

_Three... _

_Two... _

_One... _

And an explosion of lights starts before their eyes, as Delphine opens the bottle and the Paris sky lights up in a rainbow of colors, turning the night into a pale day, again and again. Down the road, the Eiffel Tower bright with lights, the Siene gaining new colors, mirroring the ones in the sky.

"Wow..." Cosima's first word since the show has begun, reluctantly peeling her eyes from the view to land in Delphine. "It's beautiful."

"Oui... Sometimes I forget." The Frenchwoman says, looking at the sky.

Cosima clears her throat, getting Delphine's attention. "I believe it's tradition to kiss someone at midnight." She complains, her index finger pointing at her cheek.

Delphine raises her brow, looking at the other woman waiting for her to lean in, her eyes impossibly bright, like the Siene, reflecting the fireworks in the sky, a mischievous twinkle in them. "You are going to turn your face at the last second, aren't you?" Delphine asks, convinced she has unraveled the American's plan.

"I might!" Cosima says, with a shit-eating grin, confirming the taller woman's suspicions.

Delphine laughs and leans anyway and sure enough, their lips meet. The kiss is innocent, just a brush of lips as the two women try to contain the laughs escaping their lips.

"I really don't think this is a healthy way to break up." Delphine says once they part.

"I know... This really doesn't feel like a break up." Cosima agrees, reaching for the bottle forgotten in Delphine's hand. "Maybe if we get drunk we can start an argue for no reason." She finishes the statement with a big gulp from the bottle. "Wow... This shit's good!"

The Frenchwoman takes the bottle when Cosima hands it to her and goes for a generous drink herself. "My father would kill me if he knew I'm drinking champagne directly from the bottle." She comments, giving it back to the brunette.

"Oui... Mademoiselle Delphine..."

"Cormier..." She corrects. "Last name."

"Oh, okay..." Cosima waves her hand then restarts. "Mademoiselle Cormier how dare you neglect le flute."

"La flute." Delphine corrects again, earning a roll of eyes from the other woman. "What? If you are going to do it, you should do it right!"

"No truer words were ever spoken..." The American concedes, reaching for the back of the blonde's neck with her free hand, making their lips meet.

This time there's no playfulness to the kiss. Cosima involves Delphine's lips with her own, slowing dragging her closer with only that movement. It's Delphine who pulls them together, her hands reaching under the smaller woman's coat and tugging them closer by Cosima's lower back. The blonde feels the hand at the back of her neck move up, submerging in the abundance of curls and Cosima's lips start to move along her jawline.

"Delphine, I really don't think we should break up." Cosima whispers in Delphine's ear.

Delphine swallows loudly. "Perhaps you're right." Her lips searching for the brunette's again. "Maybe we should delay that decision." She says, her mouth reaching what it needs. She feels the smaller woman shiver in her arms. "Are you cold?"

"Yes... No... Maybe..." Cosima laughs her answer.

Delphine wraps her coat around the small frame as Cosima shifts in her embrace, facing the Paris view, still brightening with every cracking of the firework and resting her head against the taller woman's shoulder. They stay like that, the bottle of champagne changing owner now and then, the explosions of colorful light illuminating their features. Until it stops and a weird silence sets upon them. Delphine tightens the hold she has around Cosima's waist.

"I don't want this night to end." The brunette says low.

Delphine's not sure if she's suppose to hear it. "Don't worry." She reaches down, planting a soft kiss on Cosima's neck. "In Paris, this is the longest night of the year."


End file.
